Synchronizing apparatus



L. O. KOZAR.

SYNCHRONIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION men APR. 9. 1915.

1 ,3 1 4,08 1 Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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SYNCHRONIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. 1915. 1,314,081, Patented Aug. 26,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LADISLAV O. KOZAB, 0F MIDDLETOWN, PEIFNSYLVANIA.

srnonnomzme arrmros.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

Application filed April 9, 1915. Serial No. 20,237.

apparatus, that is to a mechanism for syn-.

chronizing two independently moving elements sothat each will have thesame speed of movement.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an apparatusconsisting of a combination of electrical and mechanical devices which,when properly connected and located with respect to two rOtittlIlgelements or machines, will maintain one of the machines in synchronismwith the other.

The above and other objects and the novel features of my invention willbe apparent from the following description, taken in connection with thedrawing, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representat on of themechanisms and circuits connecting them; p

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a part of the synchronizing apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a left end elevation of ratus shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a right end elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig, 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view of another form of the appa- I circuit closingdevice controlled by the synchronizing apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, I have shown the invention. asembodied in an arrangement forsynchronizing a moving picture machine orkinetoscope and a phonograph. It is tobe understood, of course, that theinvention is not limited to such an application and may be embodied inan arrangement for synchronizing reciprocating mechanisms as well asrotating mechanisms.

The moving picture machine is diagrammatically illustrated by the partdesignated K and the cylinder or.sound record of the phonograph isdesignated as P. In the illusmust be driven by some electricallycontrolled rotor. The electric motor Mis electrically connected to thesupply mains 11 and 12 by means of the conductors 10, 14 and 15, and theflow of current through the conductors 10, 14 and 15 is controlled by acontroller or circuit interrupting device C, consistlng of a movablecontact 16 connected to the wire 15 and an adjustable contact 17connected-to the wire 14. The operation of the controlling device C willbe explained later.

The means for driving the rotating shaft S" and dc record P of thephonograph consists of an electric motor M which is electricallyconnected to the supply mains 11 and 12 by means of the conductors 13.The electric motor M"is shown as belt connected to the shaft S, but itis to be understood that the shaft S may be directly driven by the motorM if desired, the. arrangement being merely to obtain a speed reduction.

According to the arrangement herein shown it is proposed that theoperation of the moving picture machine and its motor be synchronizedwith the operation of the phonograph and its motor. The shaft S drivenby the motor M carries or drives a cylindrical commutator R which isprovided with two contacting plates 18 and 19 curved to fit thecommutator, disposed on diametrically opposite's'ides thereof and insymmetrical relation and insulated from each other. As the commutator Rrotates the plate- 18 contacts with the pair of brushes, 20, 21 andcloses a circuit therethrough and the plate 19 contacts with the pair ofbrushes 22, 23 and closes a circuit therethrough.

The alternate closing of the circuits by the plates 18 and 19alternately energizes and operates the solenoid magnets 24 and 25,respectively. lVhen the plate 18 closes the circuit at the brushes 20,21, current is supplied to the electromagnet 2 1 from the supply mains11 and 12 by the following path: positive supply main 11, wires 26 and27, brush 20, plate 18, brush 21. wire 28, magnet winding 24, wire 29,wire 30 to the negative supply main 12. When the plate 19 closes thecircuit at the brushes 22, 23, current is supplied to the electromagnet25 by the following path: positive supply main 11, wires 26, 31, brush22, plate 19, brush 23, wire 32, winding of the electromagnet 25, wires33 and 30 to. the negative supply main 12.

'yo e by a block of insulation 161.

an 251 thereof to rock the lever 34 to which.

those plunfiers are pivotally connected, see Fig. 3. T e lever 34 has anarm 35 at its center which pivotally sup orts it on the outer end of auide rod' 36 in the two on plates 37 and 38. The end plates 37. and 38are secured to a base plate 39 and rotatablysupport a shaft40. The shaft40 projects be 0nd the end late 37 and has a ratchet w eel 41 fasten tothe projecting end thereof. The ratchet wheel 41 and the shaft 40 towhich it IS connected receive an intermittent rotary movement from theoscillati lever 34 by means of a pawl 42 which is pivoted at 43 to anarm 44 midway between the ends of the lever 34.

The pawl 42 is notched at its end to fit the teeth of the ratchet wheel41' and its free end is held in engagement therewith by means of thesprin 45 which bears agalnst the under side of tfie pawl 42 and iscarried by the arm A cylinder 46 is mounted on and fixed to rotatewiththe shaft 40 and is located between the end plates 37 and 38. Thesurface of the cylinder 46 is provided with a cam groove 47 whichextends spirally along the outer surface of the cylinder from end toend. A second ratchet wheel 48 of the same diameter and number of teethhas a bore to fit the cylinder 46 and a tooth 49 thereon projecting intothe groove 47. r The ratchet wheel 48 is therefore splined to thecylinder 47 so that it may move longitudinally thereof and so that thecylinder and ratchet wheel may rotate together.

The yoke 50 is ivoted at one end on the guide rod 501 whic is fixed inthe end plates 37, 38 of the device. The free end of the yoke 50 isprovided with arms 51 and 52 which extend on opposite sides of theratchet wheel 48 and each one of the arms 51 and 52 is provided withbifurcated parts 53 and 54 which extend around the axis of the c linderto uidethe yoke 50 along the cylin er. It wi 1 therefore be seen thatwhen the cylinder 46 is rotated the ratchet wheel 48, being stationaryor rotating slower than the cylinder, will be caused by the cam groove47 to move longitudinally of the cylinder toward the right. The movementof the ratchet wheel 48 in either direction will cm with it the yoke 50which is guided by t e rod 501. V.

At its upper end "the yoke 50 carries the contact 16 of the circuitclosing or governin device C which is insulated from 1the he stationarycontact 17 is supported on the adjustable bracket 171 andinsulatedtherefrom by the block of insulation 172.5 The bracket 171 is providedwith two bosses which slidably 'fit the outer extension of the xedlymounted.

' will be opened and closed depending on the relative movement of theratchet Wheel 41 and cylinder 46 with respect to the ratchet wheel 48.

An intermittent rotating movement is imparted to the ratchet wheel 48 by'a solenoid mechanism similar in most respects to the solenoid mechanismwhich intermittently rotates the ratchet wheel 41. The motor M drivesthe shaft S and a commutator device R is mounted on the said shaft ordriven thereby. The commutator R is similar in construction to thecommutator R, being cyllndrical in shape and provided with two curvedcontacting plates 55 and 56 located on diametrically opposite sidesthereof and insulated from each other. The plates 55 and 56 are designedto alternately energize the windings of the solenoid magnets 57 and 58,rrispectively, when the motor M is running. hen the plate 55 is in theproper position current will be su plied to the electromagnet 57 by thefollowing path: positive sufply main 1*1,'wires 59 and 60, wlnding o theelectromagnet 57, wire 61 brush 62, plate 55, brush 63, wires 64 and 65to the negative supply main 12. When the connecting plate 56-is in theposition indicated in Fig. 1, current will be supplied to, theelectromagnet 58 by the following path:

positive supply main 11, wires 59 and 66,

winding of the electromagnet 58, wire 67, brush 68,-plate 56, brush 69,wires 70 and 65 to the negative supply main 12.

The alternate ener ization of the electromagnets 57 and 58 e ects theoscillation of a lever 71 (Fig. 4) which is pivotally connected to theplungers 72 and 73 of the electromagnets and rockably mounted by an arm74 upon an endof the guide rod 36. The lever 71 has an arm 75 midwaybetween its ends which at 76 pivotall supportsone arm 77 of a pawlmember 8. The pawl member 78 has another arm 79 which is pivoted on thebar 80 mounted on the rod 36. The pawl member 78 is necessarily as longas the groove 47 or at least as long as the length of travel of theratchet wheel 48 so that it will always be capable of engaging a'rm'75of the lever 71. .It will be obvious that theoscillation of the lever 71will reciprocate the pawl 77 and intermittently rotate the ratchet wheel48. In order to pre vent a reversal of the ratchet Wheel, 48 a 'Thescrew thread on the cylinder 46 quickly drives the ratchet wheel 48 andyoke or carrying device 50 to be moved to the right in Fig. 1 until thecircuit of the motor M is established by the closing of the contacts 16and 17. The motor M then starts the kinetoscope and the commutator R,which latter causes the energization of the solenoid magnets 24, 25,whereby the ratchet wheel 41 is set in motion independently of theratchet wheel 48, the direction of the cam groove 47 being such that theratchets work in opposition to each other or differentially with respectto each other. So long as the speed of rotation of the machines P and K(of the mechanisms) is the same, the ratchet wheels 41 and 48 willrotate at substantially the same speed and there will be'no'relatlvemovement between them. However, when there is a difference of speedbetween the mechanisms there will be a differential movement of the tworatchet wheels axially with respect to each other and the circuit of themotor M will be broken. When the motor M slows down, the speed ofrotation of the ratchet wheel 41 will be decreased and the wheel 48 willbe moved to the right a ain to close the circuit of the motor M. Consequently there will be a making and breaking of the circuit of themotor M'and the number of revolutions of the two machines will be madesubstantially the same.

In order to add or subtract a few revolutions to bring the apparatusinto absolute synchronism or coincidence, the contact 17 may be adjusteda slight amount along the rods 501 and 173. By moving the contact 17 tothe left in Fig. 2 an added number of revolutions will 'be required toclose the circuit at the device C and consequently a number ofrevolutions will be added to the number of revolutions of the motorcontrolled by the switch C. A movement in the opposite direction willcause the opposite effeet, that is, the number of revolutions will bedecreased according to the amount of adjustment. This arrangement maytherefore be termed an accelerating and retarding device.

It may not be desirable in some cases to have such interruptions and inorder to obviate this the motor M may be a variable speed motor and forthe controlling device C a rheostat H of suitable construction andarrangement, such as shown in Fig. 5, may be substituted, the carrier 50being provided with an arm 84 to carry the free end of the rheostat arm85 over the resistances 86, as will be readily understood.

The synchronizing apparatus herein disclosed has been-constructedespecially for synchronizing sound producing devices with motion pictureapparatus where the slight variations of speed are negligible, but theinvention is not limited to such a specific application, as it can beused in any case where it is desirable to electrically synchronize themovements of two mechanisms, for example, in electric transmission ofdrawings or handwriting.

It W111 be understood that the two machines to be synchronized need notnecessarily be driven by electricity. The controller arm of the yokeor.carrier 50 actuated by the movable ratchet wheel may be strong enoughto be connected to the shiftable lever of a friction transmission sothat the speed of the machine to be synchronized could be controlled bymeans of the friction transmission. Furthermore the two solenoid devicesmay be replaced by some mechanicalreciprocating arms connected to themachines to be synchronized so as to set the pawls in motion. Electricalmechanism is used in the present embodiment of my invention on accountof the great convenience in the transmission of energy. Not onlyrotating movements but also reciprocating movements may be synchronizedby the method herein described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two movingelements, a device rotated intermittently in one direction by one ofsaid elements, a second device adapted to be intermittently rotated inthe same direction by the other element, means foreffecting relativelongitudinal movement between the devices when one of said elementsmoves faster than the other, and means actuated by such relativemovement for controlling movement of one of said elements.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two movingelements, a device rotated intermittently in one direction by one ofsaid elements, a second device mounted coaxial with and adapted to beintermittently rotated in the same direction as the first said device bythe other element, means for effecting relative axial movement betweensaid devices when one of said elements moves faster than the other, andmeans actuated by such axial movement for controlling movement of one ofsaid 'elements.

3. The combination with two rotating elements, of means forsynchronizing said elecuit controlling movement of the last-saidelement, means for effecting relative bodily movement between saiddevices when the s eed of one element differs from that of the other,and means for closing said circuit adapted to be actuated by saidrelative move; ment between said devices.

4. The combination with two rotating el ments, of a toothed wheeladapted to be 1ntermittently rotated in one direction by one of saidelements, a second toothed wheel for intermittentl turning saidcylindrical member in one irection, a sleeve mounted on and engaging thethread of said cylindrical member, means controlled by the other saidelement for intermittently turning the sleeve in the same direction,whereby the sleeve and cylindrical member will have a relative axialmovement if the speeds of said elements difl'er, and means controlled bsaid relative movement between said sleleve and cylindrical member foractuating one of said elements.

8. In a s chronizing ap aratus, the combination'o ll vices, mechanismfordrivin one of said mounted coaxial with and adapted to bein- 0' devicesin accordance with t e speed of a termittently rotated in the samedirection as the first said wheel b the other said element, an electriccircuit or supplying ower to the last said element, means for e ectingrelative axial I movement between said toothed wheels when the speeds ofsaid elements difier, and means controllin said circuit adapted to beactuated bysuc relative movement between said wheels.

5. A synchronizin apparatus comprising a threaded c lindrical member, asleeve member mounte on said cylindrical member and having a partfitting the thread thereof, means for turning said cylindrical memberintermittently and in one direction only, means for turning the sleeveintermittently and in one directlon only, separate mechanismscontrollihg said turning means, and a govering device for one of saidmechanisms controlled by thevmovements of thatione of said members whichis, operated 'by the turn'-.

ing means controlled by the other mechan: ism.

6. A synchronizing apparatus including in combination two rotatingelements, a rotatably mounted cylindrical member, a ratchet wheelsecured thereto, an oscillatin pawl cooperating with said wheel controed by one of said elements," a second ratchet wheel threaded on saidcylindrical member, an oscillating pawl cotiperating with said secondwheel controlled by the other of said elements, the second pawl being ofgreater width than the longitudinal path of movement of the secondwheel, and means controlled by said longitudinal movement for governlngthe rotation of one of said ele' 'ments.

'7. The combination with two rotating elements, of a threadedcylindrical member, means controlled by one of said elements machine inmotion, a second mechanism for driving the other device in the samedirection as the first device is driven and in accordance with the speedof the machine to.

two difierentia y connected debe synchronized with saidmachine inmotion, means controlled by one of said de vices and capable ofcontrolling the power supply to said machine to be synchronized, andadjusting means for said controlling means. 1 j 1 9. In an apparatus ofthe class described the combination of two moving elements, a devicerotated in one direction by one of said elements, a second deviceadapted to be rotated in the same direction by the other eletated in thesame direction by the other element, 1 means for effecting relativemovement between the devices when oneof said elements moves faster thanthe other, an adjustable stationary electrical contact, and a movableelectrical contact actuated by such relative movement and cooperatingwith said stationary contact for controlling the movement of one of saidelements.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature in presence 0 two witnesses.

LADISLAV O. KOZAR. Witnesses M. B. ODoNNELn, ARTHUR R. RUPLEY.

